Rbeasy

01 XJ 4.0 116k all original. It’s 55 degrees, Jeep has been sitting overnight. Ran it 5 minutes and I have this much condensate from the tail pipe. It does not run hot, oil pressure 40-50 after warmed up highway speed, warm idle never lower than 15. Runs great. Threw a P0303 code after doing some off-roading through a creek wash, little splash over the hood. Code appeared minutes later while parked on an incline. No visible leaks if any kind but have used about about 12 oz of coolant over 500 miles. Oil looks clean and correct. Concerned about the exhaust condensate amount and the use of coolant. Probably have a 0331 head casting. What diagnosis can I do to check the head? Was thinking of pulling the plugs and doing a compression test. Thanks!

IJM

Stick you finger in that little puddle and smell it. Do you get any hint of coolant? That looks like a pretty normal amount of condensate, but if it seems like more than usual to you, it's worth poking around a bit.

exasemech

Was that 12 oz of coolant after you had worked on the cooling system for some reason 500 miles ago or 12 oz since it was just topped up 500 miles ago?
if you had worked on it it can tough burping all the air out of it and the "loss" may just be self burping. If you lose 12 oz in the next 500 miles I would start getting worried

robsjeep

What does the p0303 code indicate, misfire in cylinder 3 I think. that may be related to the big water bath which may have gotten the ignition parts wet, causing short on the distributor, high tension wires, or around the spark plug

if code persists, remove the high tension wires, dry and inspect them, same for distributor at cap and under cap (if so equiped)



if you suspect a leaky cooling system, a pressure test of said system is prudent to perform, much easier than compression test to operate, and for finding a leaky cooling system problem it is the definitive test. If you have no pressure tester, note that some stores provide a free loan of the tool...

pressure test loan at autozone....
https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-tool...ressure-tester

Rbeasy

Had the coolant system flushed at my local shop. After 700 miles added just about 12oz, perhaps to account for burping. Then added more 500 miles later, about 12oz.

Rbeasy

Have a coil pack and no wires. That is what I am telling myself that I got some water in the engine compartment and when I parked on the incline something dripped somewhere and when started I through the misfire cylinder 3 code.
Will the pressure tester I can borrow from AutoZone work on my system? My coolant reservoir is not pressurized.

doublechaz

That kit should go on in place of the radiator cap and should include a bunch of adapters to fit.

That condensate looks normal to me, but kudos to you for making sure. Tests give data. Data is used with specs to reach conclusions. Everything else is just guessing in the dark.